Judge rejects request to dismiss lawsuit over Miami show site

A Miami judge is allowing a lawsuit challenging the city’s $24 million event space on Virginia Key — created in part to host the Miami International Boat Show — to continue.

A Miami-Dade judge on Tuesday denied a motion by Miami’s attorneys to dismiss a Key Biscayne lawsuit challenging the city’s creation of the space, the Miami Herald reported.

Key Biscayne officials said the city illegally and unconstitutionally constructed the facility and have asked the court to block the city from turning what they argue is a public park into a commercial venue, according to the paper.

Deputy Miami City Attorney John Greco told Judge Jerald Bagley that the city lawfully created and used the facility.

Greco’s primary purpose in court was to argue that even had it not, the village couldn’t prove it had any special injury to bring its lawsuit against the city, and therefore its suit should be dismissed on the grounds that the village lacks standing.